In September/October 2016, I went with a group on a trip to Italy. It was SO amazing. We began on the western side of Sicily in Palermo. As part of the tour, while in Sicily we went to Erice, a walled medieval town on a steep hill. While walking its wending, narrow, cobbled roads that took us back to hundreds of years past, we came across Maria Grammatico's pastry shop which was made famous by the book Bitter Almonds by American writer Mary Taylor Simeti. Like some of the older buildings here in Portland, the pasty shop had a very narrow front façade and entrance, but once you are inside, the interior is deep. The pastries were beautiful, very European. We bought some and sat at some tables outside. The "pasticceria" is on the opposite side of the street from the La Prima Dea Ristorante which is considered to be one of the best restaurants in Sicily. read more